Work ourselves out of a job? May sound strange, but that’s what animal welfare professionals try to do every day.

For years these dedicated folks have been cleaning up society’s mess of overbreeding, animal abuse and cruelty, and irresponsible pet ownership. Each year, millions of unwanted pets are born, and each year millions are euthanized in our country’s shelters.

During the past 20 years, the animal welfare community has made a dent in that number: a small milestone to celebrate. Shelters across the country have decreased intake and euthanasia rates while holding onto the hope that one day there will be no such thing as an unwanted or homeless pet.

How have they done it? By spaying and neutering, encouraging adoption instead of breeding or purchasing, and by shutting down countless puppy mills. Sadly, puppy mills remain a huge problem.

Did you know that 25 percent of all animals in our nation’s animal shelters are pure-breed animals? Just in the past six months, the Humane Society of Greater Savannah has had 118 American Kennel Club registered dogs surrendered ... unwanted. These dogs were acquired from breeders, pet stores and flea markets.

You may see or hear people say, “If we spay/neuter all our pets, and stop breeding, there won’t be anymore pets.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Dogs and cats are domestic animals with no natural predators. We will forever dictate and control their population. With more than 6 million unwanted pets entering the animal sheltering system each year, how can one person believe that in our lifetime or the next, or even the lifetime after that, we would see an extinction of man’s best friend?

Should you be interested in a purebred dog, look at a shelter and/or a breed rescue organization before going to a breeder. Selecting a reputable breeder is critical, and finding one may not be as easy as you’d think. Two of the largest puppy mills shut down by the Humane Society of the United States were AKC-registered breeders. In a future column, we will provide some insight about selecting a breeder.

But in the meantime, help make our jobs extinct — adopt from a shelter or other rescue and, of course, make sure all your pets are spayed or neutered — so that one day each and every pet will be wanted and loved.

Guinn Friedman is director of operations for the Humane Society for Greater Savannah.